Great Film: Without a Paddle
Better and More Clever Than I Expected
The whole rating system is kind of skewed. Some people rated this film
low because it wasn't Larwrence of Arabia but then it wasn't meant to
be. It's like comparing actors when they play different roles. You can
only really compare them playing the same role.
Anyway I went to the film expecting a goofy stoner type of mindless
entertainment. Just a laugh. But I was pleasantly surprised that not
only was it funny but some deeper thought had gone into it. The plot
was more substantial than I expected, there were bits of philosophy
sprinkled throughout which accentuated the positive side of life, and
the cast was pretty good too. I'm not sure what inspired Burt Reynolds
to play his character but he did it well as did all of the players.
But mainly the movie was funnier than hell. I almost embarrassed myself
I laughed so hard during the first bear sequence. The image of Mott
saying 'help' as he looked back while being carried off had me laughing
way too high way too long but it and some other scenes were hilarious
and I couldn't help it then either.
All in all a good film for the genre. And surprisingly while I think it
appeals to the stoner crowd it's cool in that it incorporates it
without promoting it though it doesn't avoid it either. In fact I was
struck by the fact that the bad guys were red neck smokers and the good
guys were dopey beer drinkers but apparently nothing more.
Lastly the film cleverly pays homage to other films throughout.
Deliverance, The Matrix, and others are covered and probably a few I
missed.
Cast
- Dan Mott played by Seth Green
- Jerry Conlaine played by Matthew Lillard
- Young Tom played by Matthew Price
- Young Jerry played by Andrew Hampton
- Young Dan played by Jarred Rumbold
- Young Billy played by Carl Snell
- Billy Newwood played by Antony Starr
